Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88’s are the torch bearers of a great American musical heritage. Taking their inspiration from the great jump n’ boogie outfits and swingin’ little big bands of the 40’s, they breathe fresh life into the music that gave birth to rock n’ roll. Mitch takes his cue from predecessors like Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway, Joe and Jimmie Liggins, and Louis Prima, just to name a few. Mitch’s pile driving piano licks and energetic stage persona combine with the Rocket 88’s swingin’ horns, thumpin’ bass, rockin’ guitar, and jungle drums to send a crowd into dancing delight. They are one of the first bands on the West Coast to reach back to an earlier time in American music using humor, style, musicianship, and showmanship to forge their own swinging brand of music, which they coined rock-a-boogie. Mitch & the 88’s have distilled the essence of jump, swing, and boogie woogie, made it their own, and deliver it to the present.Johnny Reno is one of the great jump blues players in the Texas music scene, and has been one of the most visible sidemen of the last 30 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as a member of Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s Double Trouble, and led jump swing bands The Sax Maniacs and Juke Jumpers as well. Reno has been leading his own bands since the early 1990s, as well as touring with Chris Isaak and others.